Yogyakarta –Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi made a working visit to Yogyakarta to review the progress of the construction of the Yogyakarta International Airport (Yogyakarta International Airport) train, Friday (12/3).

The Ministry of Transportation through the Directorate General of Railways is building a 5.3 km airport railway line from Kedundang Station to Yogyakarta International Airport Station which is being built elevated. As of March 2021, the construction progress has reached 83.6%.

The construction of the railway line with an investment value of 1.1 trillion Rupiah was built in multi-years. Construction began in December 2019 and is targeted for completion in the middle of the year or around July 2021. Then in July a series of trials will be carried out and it is targeted to be operational in August 2021.

The Minister of Transportation said that the construction of airport trains is an inseparable part of Yogyakarta International Airport, because this airport is an international airport that can accommodate large-bodied aircraft and is a center for the movement of people both from within and outside the country, so it must have good intermodal connectivity and integration. .

"YIA Airport can accommodate around 20 million passengers per year, so it must have good connectivity via airport trains, which can connect Yogyakarta Tugu Station with YIA Kulonprogo Airport. This effort is also to support Borobudur as a priority tourist destination. People can also be more comfortable using airport trains," said the Minister of Transportation.

It is planned that the number of airport train trips from Tugu Yogyakarta - YIA Station along 40.23 km is 24 trips/day using 4 train sets of electric diesel rail trains (KRDE) and has a carrying capacity of 4,800 passengers/day.

Meanwhile, the waiting time between train arrivals (headway) is about 30 minutes. From Tugu Yogyakarta Station, this airport train journey will stop at two stations, namely Wates Station and Yogyakarta International Airport Station.

The maximum train speed can reach 80 km/hour with a travel time of only about 45 minutes or faster than passing through the highway which can take 1-2 hours. Then the applicable tariff is estimated at Rp. 25,000.

On the same occasion, the Minister of Transportation Budi also reviewed the labor-intensive program of constructing a 310 m long access road in the Kaligintung Settlement Area, which was affected by the construction of the airport train. This program absorbs the workforce of about 400 local residents.

In his review, the Minister of Transportation distributed masks to project workers and asked them to be disciplined in implementing health protocols while working.

Also present during the working visit of the Minister of Transportation to Yogyakarta, Director General of Civil Aviation at the Ministry of Transportation Novie Riyanto, Head of Central Java Railway Engineering Center Putu Sumarjaya; Technical Director of PT. Angkasa Pura I Lukman F. Laisa; General Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I Agus Pandu Purnama. (AH/RDL/LA/JD)